MOBILE, Alabama — Classes resumed this week at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School in Midtown Mobile, and as usual the senior class was easy to spot in the crowded hallways, since they are the only students permitted to wear the school’s traditional black shirt.
Small privileges, big meaning
For seniors who spent three years working toward the milestone, the black shirt carries real weight. One student, who moved to Mobile from Indiana and joined the school as a sophomore, said she was most looking forward to the small senior privileges tied to good behavior, like skipping ahead in the lunch line, even though she still has to make up a freshman-level course she missed when she arrived. Active in hospital volunteer work through a University of South Alabama children’s program, she hopes to study nursing at Purdue University and take part in a study-abroad program there.
Student government, pep rallies and college indecision
Another senior, elected president of the student government association, said his year will be built around pep rallies and his duties as tailgating president for football games, while he juggles keeping his GPA up for scholarship consideration. He has toured several in-state and regional universities but remains undecided on where he will study medicine or law, saying he ultimately hopes to go into politics.
The ‘Back in Black’ pep rally and a packed resume
A third senior, who leads a hospital volunteer group and serves as vice president of her class, said the highlight of her year will be the school’s Back in Black pep rally, when the hallways are draped entirely in the class color. She is weighing offers from two in-state universities to study management information systems, though she admits the ACT and looming college applications feel overwhelming. Her advice to freshmen was simple: keep a level head, and don’t sprint through the halls.
Common advice across the senior class
Despite their different interests and college plans, the seniors agreed on one point: freshman year matters more than most incoming students realize, both academically and socially. They encouraged younger students to get involved early, manage their time carefully and lean on the friendships they build in those first years, since those bonds tend to carry through graduation and beyond.
The start of classes at the private Catholic school this week marked another milestone in the broader return to school taking place across Mobile this month, as area students settle back into routines after the summer break.